SP gets new management, ex-CEO vows to retain post
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The country's largest cement producer, publicly listed PT Semen Gresik, decided on Monday to oust the rebellious top executives of its West Sumatra-based subsidiary PT Semen Padang, who have been fighting against the government's plan to sell its controlling stake in the parent company to Mexican cement giant Cemex.
The old management team, which seems to have the support of Semen Padang employees and the local court, however, vowed to retain their positions, claiming that the management reshuffle was unlawful.
"We deny the legality of the extraordinary shareholders meeting, therefore the outcome is also illegal," outgoing Semen Padang president Ikhdan Nizar told The Jakarta Post.
The long-overdue shareholders meeting was arranged by Semen Gresik with the management reshuffle as the main agenda.
Ikhdan said that all moves made by Semen Gresik was illegitimate following a local court's ruling to abrogate all legal rights held by Semen Gresik in Semen Padang, which contributes a third of Semen Gresik's total output.
On May 9, the Padang District Court in West Sumatra handed down a ruling that annulled the sale of Semen Padang to Semen Gresik in 1995.
However, the Supreme Court recently approved Semen Gresik's proposal to hold an extraordinary shareholders meeting regarding Semen Padang.
The former management of Semen Padang, together with local politicians, had long demanded that the central government separate it from Semen Gresik as they were opposed to a plan to sell further shares in Semen Gresik to Cemex, which already owns a 25-percent stake in the company.
The demand, however, will cost the government dearly as it would have to compensate Cemex and other minority shareholders of Semen Gresik. Semen Padang's rebellion has thwarted, for the time being, the government's key privatization program, planned since 2001.
The old Semen Padang management allegedly held up Semen Gresik's 2002 accounts, forcing it to miss a March 31 deadline to submit its financial report, which prompted auditors to qualify its accounts.
As a result, the Jakarta Stock Exchange suspended trading in the Semen Gresik shares on Monday morning.
Meanwhile, Semen Gresik president Satriyo said in the extraordinary meeting that he hoped the new management would take over with a commitment to resolve and fix the current problems.
Satriyo was confident that the employees of Semen Padang would support the new management team, some of whom were promoted from within the company.
Dwi Sucipto, a former director at Semen Padang, has been appointed the new president, while Ismet Yuzairi, a former North Sumatra army commander, has been named president commissioner.